Notes on a Kuruta
by Ongaku no Usagi
Summary: Continuation of "The Heartbeat Never Lies". Apparently not as controversial as I thought pairing, Kurapika x Senritsu.
1. First Arabesque

Notes on a Kurata

A Hunter X Hunter fanfic

_By Ongaku no Usagi_

**Disclaimer:** Hunter X Hunter belongs to Togashi Yoshihiro. This applies for all subsequent chapters of "Notes on a Kurata".

Chapter 1: First Arabesque

Like floating on air.

That is how I would describe the sound. Yes, like that; like a balloon ride. Not a zeppelin ride, all noisy engines and sheer glass separating you from the thin air outside; but like the hazy sound of hot air, the wind grazing your face as you look down, down, at the Lego world below of crop squares and wandering brooks and spotty lakes. That is floating.

Impulsively, I let out a little smile as I slide my hand down the banister with my descent. She always knows what piece to play.

And today, with the recent tension in the mansion, building up with Light-sama's discovery that Neon-sama has lost her ability to predict the future, it provides much-needed relief.

When I enter the room, lined with such displays that rich people love to show off, I can barely make out her form at the ebony-glossed piano. Only her legs poke out underneath, just barely long enough to reach the pedals.

As I come around, tracing the curve of the piano with my fingertips, she comes more in to view, and again, I can't hold back the smile.

What a funny little woman. Her appearance alone is enough to make even the most desperate man balk; yet, you get to know her, and all those grotesque features—the bald head with scraggly locks around the bottom like a Franciscan monk, the short, fat body and limbs, the rabbit-like teeth—all fade into cuteness. Instead of making you want to run away, she makes you want to hold her. Instead of making you grimace and turn away, she makes you smile and come closer.

That is the charm of Senritsu.

She looks up at me as I come into view and smiles, never ceasing her agile movements over the keyboard. "Good afternoon, Kurapika. Is everything alright?" Graceful melodies, complex harmonies, ascend from the keys.

"Yes," I reply, "I just heard your playing and thought I'd come to listen. What piece is that you're playing?"

She chuckles a little, eyes closing before looking back up at me. All the time, the music continues spinning. "This is a piece by Claude Debussy, called "First Arabesque", she answers. "Do you like it."

"Yes! Actually, I never thought music could be this uplifting."

"That's the magic of Debussy," she answers. "He uses harmonies that no one else did in his time period; he does it with the grace that was lacking when other composers came around to it. Notice how the notes always lift up, getting higher in the register. That is why it sounds so uplifting."

I am not a musician. But I am intelligent; I am well-read, and that includes music. So I can appreciate what she says.

The piece ends, oh, so softly! As if the balloon never came back down; as if it just kept floating, until it was absorbed into the air around it.

I should get back to work, and I know it. So I turn around and walk off, with only a polite nod for a goodbye. I know she understands, so I'm not concerned that she'll find it rude.

Yet I can feel her eyes on my back as I exit.

**Author's Notes:** Yes, yes, I know the Kurapika/Senritsu pairing is practically non-existent. But ever since the first time I watched the anime, it seemed like there was a little something implied there. So I wrote "The Heartbeat Never Lies" kind of to vent that and get it out of my system with a little humor. However...the idea persisted. Hence this set of short stories. If this particular pairing makes you uncomfortable, which is very understandable, be warned.


	2. Fantasia in D minor

Chapter 2: Fantasia in D minor

The sound of a thunder storm rumbles its way closer to the mansion. Thick is the air; humid yet dry at the same time, a heat that frailly insists on freezing cold.

We stand in silence, here, on one of the many balconies, watching the storm come in.

Work has been pretty scarce around here recently. Aside from going out with Neon-sama whenever she wants to go to the casino, or, Heaven forbid, shopping, we've found ourselves here with little to do. Bashou spends much of his time reading and writing poetry, or working out. The two of us; we talk sometimes, we play chess sometimes, sometimes he reads while I play.

Without either of us noticing it, we've become as close as best friends, without actually tacking on such a name to the relationship.

Today there are no words, just silence as we respectfully watch the storm come in. Pretty soon, darkness, not an evening darkness, nor the darkness of a room with closed blinds, but the darkness of a dungeon, advanced.

The air around us suddenly becomes frigid, and I shiver.

He narrows his eyes as he looks suddenly at me. "Are you cold?" he asks, in a question that is not a question.

Plop, plop, the sound of raindrops that is only the sound of raindrops from a thunderstorm. Landing on his head, my head, and the balcony.

My ears warn me before anything else, and wordlessly, I pull him back under the shelter of the awning above. An instant...no, less than an instant...later, a pure sheet comes down, covering the surface of the balcony instantly as rain glances off rain, so fast that what is on the ground has barely been there a moment before it is pummeled from more rain above.

"And here comes the hail," I murmur. Of course, I'm right.

He opens the sliding glass door for me and gestures for me to enter first, which I do.

Impulsively, I walk...trot...perhaps even a little run...towards the piano, which is in the same room we have just entered. He follows, more slowly; I have just begun the first set of arpeggios as he comes to stand next to me, one hand resting on the side of the piano.

Dark arpeggios, rumbling like the thunder that is now so directly above the mansion that it sounds immediately after the lightning flashes. And then, just as suddenly, the thunder is past, and so are the arpeggios.

Staccato notes now coming from the piano, just like the lighter rain that has taken the place of the pounding rain from beforehand. My fingers lightly touch the keys, bringing out those notes with the same delicacy of the rain.

A couple of measures away from one of the harder parts of the piece. My fingers tense up a bit as I ritardando into it, and then whoosh! I let them fly into the dark, fast arpeggio. Just like the notes, a more distance rumble of thunder sounds.

He is still there, watching me. If my cheeks would allow for a blush, I probably would by now. Oh, well. Even if I allowed for a little room for whatever feelings might be there, obviously there's no way they would be reciprocated.

So I concentrate on the notes.

Presently, I have come to the repeated portion of the piece. I can feel the piece lighten into the major key, just as the room brightens as the dark clouds pass from the face of the sun.

More thirty-second, sixteenth, eighth and then, quarter notes.

I play the final dominant chord and leave it there. Mozart kicked the bucket before he finished this piece, and I'm not going to tack on some stupid ending someone else put there.

He has noticed, instinctively, even though he can't understand why. "Aren't you going to end it? It sounds unfinished," he says with a little frown.

I laugh a little. "Yes, it's unfinished," I tell him. "It sounds strange that way, doesn't it?"

He comes around to my left side, leans over, and depresses a handful of keys. He doesn't get it right the first time; he accidentally plays an augmented chord; but he quickly amends it, bringing down the fifth into a perfect. I'm a little astonished actually, that he managed to find the right chord. As he straightens back up, I release the sustain pedal.

He looks up at me with a twinkle in his eye. "It's pretty easy when you figure out the arrangement of the black keys," he tells me. "Incidentally...what chord did I just play?"

"A D major," I answer with a smile. Then...oh, no, not that...that tingling in the nose...AACHOO!

He gives me a little concerned glance as I sniff and wipe my nose with the handkerchief he offers. "Thag you."

He sighes and clucks like an overprotective mother. "You're still wet," he says, admonishing me gently. "Go change your clothes before you catch a cold."

"You too," I say with a wink.

His heartbeat changed a little when I did that.


	3. Intermezzo in C major

Chapter 3: Intermezzo in C major

Bashou and I sit next to each other, him reading poetry, me reading a dissertation on the effects of the British Empire on India during the 1800's. Most people would consider it pretty dry reading, but I enjoy it. Why? Just...because. Don't ask me, please don't ask me. Oh, all right, if you want to know, it's because I get this sneaky little satisfaction from knowing things that most people don't know. Heh. Especially around Leorio.

Sometimes, when no one else is around, I pull out a little book entitled, "Learning how to read music." I sift through it guiltily, although I don't know why I don't want anyone else to know I'm trying to learn how to read notes.

However, even I will get weary of reading every now and then. And so, when the light notes trickle into the room, impulsive, unpredictable, I look up gladly. So does Bashou.

After a little listening, we turn to each other and grin.

Senritsu is up to it again.

"This is a fun piece," Bashou comments as he heaves himself to his feet. I reciprocate his action, and we both walk toward the music.

Ah! Too brief, or else we walk too slow. By the time we enter the room she's playing in, the piece has finished, with a light, whimsical movement at the end.

I walk over to where she is. The mood of the room is considerably lighter than before, obviously the work of the little lady's notes. She looks up at me, almost laughing. "I could hear your heartbeats get more fanciful from the other room," she says.

Bashou, from where he stands, arms crossed, partway across the room, says, "What piece was that, Senritsu?"

"This? Oh, just a little short piece by Brahms," she says. "I kind of like it, myself. It's a little tricky in places," demonstrating the middle section of two-against-three (how does she do that? It's like rubbing your stomach and patting your head at the same time), "but overall, it's just so delightful that I had to learn it the first time I heard it. Do you like it, Kurapika?"

I grin back at her. "Do me a favor?" I ask, full well knowing she'll comply.

"Yes?"

"Play it again?"

She does, with a little laugh, and Bashou and I both stand there, listening, smiling, him occassionally chuckling, until the last note plays itself away.


	4. Claire de Lune

Chapter 4: Claire de Lune

Sitting down. Arranging myself, balance, straight back, hands lifted, arms relaxed but prepared, mind clear and focused.

I get as far as the third measure. Then a sudden chord cluster as he suddenly appears in front of me.

Silly me, I was so incredibly focused that I didn't even notice him enter. How often does that happen?

His eyes widen, and he puts his hands up in an apologetic manner. "I'm sorry, Senritsu, I didn't think I'd disturb you."

Still a little hazy from being interrupted, from being torn from the world of notes to the real world, I murmur, "It's all right, don't worry about it." Unconsciously, I scoot over on the bench to make room for him. His heartbeat is a little confused as he hesitates, and then sits down to my left.

A little silence. His heartbeat is doing very strange things, speeding up, slowing down, in turmoil, expectant yet unsure.

"What is this you're playing?" he asks, gesturing towards the music I've set up. I don't usually use music, preferring to play from memory, but this piece needed a good going-over, so today I hauled out the music and came prepared to work at it until I was satisfied.

"Another Debussy, I see," he says, looking at the composer's name on the score.

"Yes, I have a weakness for the Impressionists," I say with a tiny laugh. "Ravel...Debussy...Faure...they're so brilliant, so different, yet so delicate!"

He frowns at the music, getting closer to it. "This is an F," he says, playing the note, "and this is an A..."

My ears instantly offended, I hastily correct him. "It's a flat," I say. He thinks for a minute, and then plays the black note above.

"Augh! The one below, the one below!" I say, and instinctively place my hand over his.

He freezes for a minute. Swallows uncertainly. I gasp and draw my hand back. "Sorry...I don't know, it just sounded so wrong I HAD to do something," I say.

He thinks for a minute. "No, it's okay," he says, finally, and suddenly grabs my left hand with his right and places it over his own. "Show me," he says.

I bite my lower lip. Then I press down with my fingers on his, playing the F and the Ab together with our left hands. Then I take his right hand with mine and place it over the same notes, an octave above. Then the left hand goes up a semitone, and the right plays a set of three intervals, quickly.

And so we get through the end of the first part of the piece. I release his hands, praying that he can't hear my heartbeat like I can hear his.

Because there's very little trace of the giddy delight in his that there is in mine. Mostly confusion and uncertainty.

"Well, thank you for the lesson, Senritsu-sensei," he says with a little grin, getting up.

"You're welcome," I reply. If I could blush...ooooh, my face would be so red right now!

After he's left, I berate myself. "Bad Senritsu, bad Senritsu, bad Senritsu..."


	5. Intermezzo in A major

Chapter 5: Intermezzo in A major

"Kurapika, right?" It is Neon-sama's voice. I turn around, with the usual cool look I have for a girl that, despite Bashou's teasing, I have never, ever been attracted to.

"Yes, Neon-sama? Do you need something?"

She is grinning at me, her eyes that normal, somewhat vacant look. She fiddles with her hands, looking down a little, then her eyes flutter back up. "Well, as a matter of fact, I need you to do something for me in my room."

I sigh, very very inaudibly, so as to relieve myself of the annoyance inside, but not to offend her. "Are you sure you need me?" I ask. After all, her words carry the inference of "alone", and I would rather not be alone with anyone—let alone a teenage girl my own age—in a bedroom.

She gives me that pout. Oh, yes, she is so used to getting things her way. "All right," I say, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

She brightens right up, grabs my hand and starts running. I have to run to keep up with her; it looks like we're two giddy teenagers off to mischief, all right.

She halts suddenly when we reach her room, so that I collide into her, almost knocking her off her feet. Fortunately, I manage to catch both myself and her. She clings to me upon the touch.

Very, very politely but firmly, I remove her arms from around my neck. "Would you please tell me what it is you need, Neon-sama?" I ask.

She grabs ahold of my hand AGAIN and leads me, down that silken hallway of pink, sheer curtains, towards the bed at the far end. I swallow hard.

She releases my hand and points toward a shelf to the right of her bed. "That box," she says, "it's too high and too heavy for me to reach."

Relief washes over me, and I laugh a little as I get up on the bed and reach up to grab ahold of the bed. "Will that be all, Neon-sam...Augh!"

Without considering the consequences, she has jumped onto the bed full force. The springiness causes me to lose both the box and my balance. In vain, I try to catch it before it falls on the floor, and tumble down on the bed.

ON TOP OF HER.

I gasp suddenly. The box falls to the ground with a soft thud as dozens of stuffed animals pour out.

And here I am, in the most uncomfortable, uncompromising situation possible, actually pinning the girl I'm supposed to protect to her own BED.

Bad, bad, BAD!

She looks up at me with a little surprise. "Well, I didn't know you felt this way about me, Kurapika, but since you do..." She reaches up and grabs ahold of my neck, pulling me down towards her.

It's then that I hear the little sob at the entrance of the room, followed by quick footsteps. I look up just in time to see a green cloak trailing away.

I vigorously pull away. "No, no, I'm sorry, Neon-sama...that was a complete mistake..."

She looks ever so slightly disappointed, but not much. "Oh, I see. My bad." Pushing myself up, I get to my feet and pull her up. "Are you all right, Neon-sama?"

"Yes...Oh! My little animals!" she exclaims, attention suddenly drawn towards the stuffed toys littering the floor.

I help her clean them up, quickly, and hastily make my way out.

I halt suddenly, hearing the music.

It starts out light, sweet, like a lover's first dream; it all falls apart in the middle, into anguished tones, and at the end...the exact same notes that played at beginning, now, now, they are like a heart torn in two.

I close my eyes, not daring to walk into that room. I know who witnessed the accident with Neon-sama, and I know the impression she got.

Poor Senritsu...

Only now am I awakened to how she feels.


	6. Yami no Sonata, part 1

Chapter 6: Yami no Sonata, part 1

I cry myself to sleep, mostly, nowadays.

I knew it, I knew I shouldn't have let my feelings get carried away, after all, I'm a good six years older than that boy, and looks decades older, but...but...!

Ever since I saw him with Neon-sama, he's been avoiding me. Even if he happens to come into the same room as me, he halts suddenly and flees. Actually flees. As if he's embarassed just to be around me.

I should be happy for him. I ought to be glad that he's found someone he likes someone that he can touch with joy, someone he...he...

I choke. No, no, those thoughts must go away. Away, Senritsu!

I clear my mind with some effort. But suddenly the anguish hits again and a new wave of tears starts. Not only have I lost him...which I never had...I've also lost my best friend, in a sense. Bashou talks to me sometimes, but it's not the same. Of course I can't talk to Neon-sama.

My phone rings and I, letting it ring a couple of times to compose myself, pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Senritsu? It's me, Darren. I've found a new lead for that Sonata you've been looking for."

My thoughts change completely. The goal that I've been working towards for the last seven years. Yes, that is what my original intentions were. "Are you sure?"

"Very sure. As a matter of fact...you might say that this could be the chance that might never come again."

He gives me the particulars, and then adds, "But be careful, Senritsu. This...this is far more dangerous than anything you've ever tried before."

"I'll keep that in mind," I say, but heavily, I know that as long as I accomplish my goal, the destroying of the Yami no Sonata, it won't matter if I live or die.

What's to live on for past that?

I sigh and start packing.

In the evening, I quietly leave the mansion, having mentioned to Bashou beforehand my intentions. The train ride...the airship ride...another train...and...

A horse ride?

My journey has taken me to a remote place in Mongolia. The only way to get where I want is by a horse.

Not so sure about it. I take the night at a hotel to think it over.

In the middle of a night, a soft knock on the door.

I stopped caring about molesters years ago. Who would want anything with me? So I open the door confidently, and then stand there in shock.

My mouth drops open as I see the blond standing there in front of me. Something inside of me instinctively closes the door.

Not fast enough. He puts a foot between the door and the frame, and then, his strength overcoming mine, pushes his way into the room.

I gasp and back away. "Senritsu...Senritsu, what's the matter with you?" he asks, coming closer to me very quickly. Before I can escape, he grabs my chin and forces me to look up at him. I can only take a minute of it before looking away. His eyes have turned red. I can only assume he's angry at me.

But he releases me after a minute and then sits on the bed with a sigh. "Senritsu, please. Why did you suddenly leave like that?"

"The...the Sonata..." I sit down next to him.

"I know!" He looks back up, eyes red again, blazing. Then he calms himself. "I know," he repeats. "But why...why are you doing something so dangerous by yourself? Why in the world didn't you ask me to come with you?"

Finally, I find the courage to ask. But it's not how I wanted. Normally...I don't get angry! Normally, I am nothing but serene. But he...he...he's breaking through that.

I slap him with all my force. "Idiot!" I shout at the top of my voice. "Did you honestly think I wanted to put you in danger? Especially when you have your little girlfriend waiting for you back home? If I'm the one being secretive, what about you? Huh? How come you never told me?"

He has gotten over the startled look he first put on when he found himself, not only being slapped by the peaceful Senritsu, but now yelled at by the peaceful Senritsu. Before I know what's happening, he grabs both of my wrists.

"That...that was nothing!" he shouts back, face inches from mine. "Don't you understand? Do you think I would do THAT with a girl like that?"

I wince, partially because of the misunderstanding but mostly because even for a normal person, let alone for a sensitive Music-Hunter, his voice is way, way too loud.

I pull away and cover my ears. He calms down. "I'm sorry, I should have known I'd hurt your ears," he says, releasing his hold. He looks away from me. "I'm sorry, Senritsu."

Something clicks. God, you're slow, Senritsu. "So...you and Neon-sama...?"

He shakes his head.

I heave a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness! I was afraid the sky had fallen and all logic had come to an end."

Now he cracks a smile, gets up, walks towards the door. "I'm going to check into a room across from you," he says. "Rest up, we'll need it tomorrow."

"We?"

He flashes me a rare "aren't you dumb" look. "Of course, we. Did you think I came all this way to yell at you?"

"Can't be too sure," I say. He merely smiles and closes the door behind him.


	7. Yami no Sonata, part 2

Chapter 7: Yami no Sonata, part 2

When I get up in the morning, I can hear Senritsu's flute even from my bedroom.

It is calm, soothing, but a little shaky, as though she can't completely support her breath. My guess it that the music is for herself. After all, she's this close to accomplishing her goal. If I were her, I'd be nervous too.

I think about that while I take a shower, cold water pounding at my back from the manual pump. Yes, I've relaxed a little on my goals. Although collecting the eyes is going steadily, I'm still far from collecting them all. And then there are the rest of the Spiders to contend with...

At least Kuroro is not free from my Judgment Chain yet. But I can sense it won't be long before he'll be free from it. If only because Hisoka has as much determination as Gon Freecs, in some respects.

Well. It's not time to think about that, anyway. Today...today is for her. Today I will step out of this little selfish circle I've drawn around myself in the name of vengeance, and help another person get closer to her goal.

I dry off, stepping out of the shower, shivering. Mongolia is a rough place. Even in the middle of the summer, the nights are freezing and the mornings not much better.

Dressed, I knock on Senritsu's door. She opens, her small bag already packed. "Are you ready?" she asks.

"In a minute," I say, and hurried pack up the few belongings I've brought before rejoining her. I think for a moment, and then add something I haven't used in over a year under my loose-fitting shirt.

A small breakfast of who-knows-WHAT-but-better-not-ask, and we've arrived at the stable where Senritsu has arranged to rent a horse. The owner, grinning a dark-toothed grin, hands over the reins of a horse, which she takes, wordlessly, handing over the agreed amount.

Using the few words I know of Mongolian, I ask, "One horse? We need...two horses."

He shakes his head, still grinning. I manage to make out, "Only one. Need the other one for myself. Don't worry, she's strong."

I narrow my eyes at the mare, doubtfully. She's skinny and small.

"Don't worry, Kurapika," Senritsu says softly. "You're a tad underweight, as it is, and I'm lighter than I look."

I lick my lips apprehensively. Still...a forty mile ride...

We attach our bags to the saddle and I hoist her up. "Good trip," the man says, and I glance at him before getting up in front of her. As we begin to trot, she places her arms around my waist.

Well, what else did you expect? I tell myself.

It's just a weird feeling, that's all.

Forty miles later, much much stiffer. I haven't ridden a horse since my village was slaughtered.

After a long, hard canter across what is mostly dry desert and stunted plants, we had picked our way up a narrow trail into what seemed the heart of the mountain. The Dowsing Chain came in quite handy.

Now, we've arrived at our destination. The opening of the cave looked enough like a mouth, with stalagmites and stalactites appearing as jagged teeth, that I can't help but think twice about actually going in.

I glance over at her. Her face is already hardened into determination. She slides off the horse and begins walking towards the opening.

"Wait!" I, too, dismount, tying the horse to a nearby branch, and put a hand on her shoulder to stop her from moving further. She gasps, looking back up at me.

"Let me check for traps, first," I say, and cast out my Dousing Chain.

We both gasp in surprise as it completely disappears where the entrance begins. I tighten the corners of my mouth. "Well, that's a problem," I say.

"What?"

"We can't use Nen in that cave. It's sealed to Nen users."

She swallows hard. "So we need to use Zetsu."

"Yes."

Silence. We both rely so much on our Nen, going into such a situation without it is like walking into a bull's ring without a rope. We'd have to rely on nothing more than our own speed and agility.

"Well then, shall we go?" she whispers, voice still undisturbed, though I can tell she's nervous.

I take a deep breath, close my eyes. When they are open, I stare determinedly into that mouth of a cave.

"Let's go.

**Author's Notes:** Hi, all ye strange, wonderful people who read my very odd fanfic. I'm going to start updating weekly now, not because I've run out of inspiration, but because if I don't pace myself, I write too much and don't get anything else done! So look for updates every Sunday.

Arigato gozaimasu!


	8. Yami no Sonata, part 3

Chapter 8: Yami no Sonata, part 3

With him next to me, it's not so bad. The ground is uneven, but there is a definite path; the ceiling is low enough that Kurapika has to bend down a little, but wide enough for both of us to walk side by side.

Still, the gruesome skeletons hanging out at all angles, the stench of dead things, and the hideous green light coming from an unseen source, all speak to me, call to me, and play, over and over, that piece of music I heard seven years ago, in my head.

Involuntarily, I start shaking uncontrollably. He notices when I am forced to stop dead still in the middle of the path.

"Cold?" It is, again, a question that is not a question. The answer is obvious.

I shake my head. He regards me for a minute and then goes down on one knee as he pulls me in to a tight embrace.

In my ear, he begins humming, lowly, the beginning of Claire de Lune. I close my eyes and concentrate on that sound, forcing the other song out of my head.

After a minute, he draws away. "Can you continue?" he asks. I nod. He stands back up, gingerly, and we walk on.

Then...hellish laughter. It cackles around, one burst filling the entire cavern with echoes. Wondering if it's in my head, I look up at Kurapika. From the frown on his features and the cautious glancing around, he hears it, too. As the echoes begin to die away, the furrow between his brows deepens.

Without warning, a whistling through the air. I don't need to warn him; he has already flattened himself on the floor of the cave, dragging me down with him.

Several old, rotting spears fly through the air, passing inches above us.

There is another silence, then that cackling again. We both cautiously raise our heads.

"Is there somebody else here?" I whisper to him. He shakes his head grimly. "No...it was a trap. Look." He points ahead and to the left where, at the wall between two tunnels splitting up into a fork, there are three skeletons, arms outstretched, rocking back and forth from where they are suspended from the ceiling.

As we pick ourselves up, I ask him, "Which one?"

He sighs. "I can't use the Dowsing Chain. What do you think?"

I close my eyes, listening. Although the Nen has cut off my acute hearing, I can still sense...something...in the tunnel to the right. Something deep in my being stretches out and tells me that.

He notices me looking that direction, and even without a word, he goes first.

The tunnel gets smaller and smaller; soon it is so tiny that we both have to crawls on our stomachs. In fact, slimmer that he is, he has to pull me along at a certain point. Then, suddenly, ahead of me, he stands up.

"We're here," he says in a hushed tone, his voice echoing in what is obviously a much larger tunnel. He turns back to help me out.

But then he gasps in horror, red eyes flashing. And then he disappears.

"KURAPIKA!" My voice sounds in the room. It comes back to me, terrified. I haul myself out with much effort, and rush forward.

He lies there, on the ground, as if in a deep sleep. In front of me, there is a wisp, a faint reminder of anguishing memories. It barely has a corporeal form; it laughs maniacally at me.

"So you," in a slithering voice, "dare to come to destroy the Yami no Sonata, eh?" Again, those notes, in my head! Even though I cover my ears, they do not cease. I look back up at the vision.

It hovers like smoke, not pure smoke, but the gritty smoke that comes out of factories, above a scroll, laid out on red velvet, encircled by a halo of golden yellow light. The edges are crinkled, outlined with silver; a scarlet ribbon holds it together.

I look back over at Kurapika, still unconscious. The voice chuckles again, lowly. "Him? Maybe he's dead. Maybe he's alive. Maybe burning the Sonata will kill him. What do you think?"

I stoop next to him and brush the hair out of his eyes softly. His eyebrows draw together slightly as I do so, and I can hear him breathing. I close my eyes in relief, and walk over to that scroll determinedly.

The smoke-like vision hisses as I draw nearer. "Are you sure that's the wisest thing to do, child? Why don't you take your friend and flee, now, before I kill you where you stand?"

I boldly hover one hand above the scroll, right through that smoke. It dissipates, then reforms, higher.

"What do you think you're doing?" Suddenly the voice is higher, drier, thinner.

"You. Are a liar. And I already know this," I say. And then grasp that scroll in my own hand.

The voice shrieks, like the painful laughter of hyenas, as the smoke whooshes and disappears. I grasp the torch just above and hold the end to the scroll. It seems to resist the flame, and then, all at once, goes up in scorching heat.

I drop it onto the velvet cushion it was on to begin with and step back as the whole display goes on fire. And then...as though a great eraser is wiping over parts of my memory, I feel blankness overcome my mind, my body. Lightness. Lightheadedness really...and the floor, it's rushing up to meet me...

**Author's Notes: **Couldn't help it, had to update in the middle of the week.


	9. Yami no Sonata, part 4

Chapter 9: Yami no Sonata, part 4

My eyes suddenly shoot open of their own accord, and I am fully awake in an instant. The blazing light of the fire ahead fills my vision, and then she falls...

I catch her quickly and set her gently down. Right where she lies, face down, it seems her clothing is suddenly shrinking, and then I realize, it's her body that shrinking, lengthening. Arms and legs slendering gracefully; and hair growing.

The transformation complete, I roll her over. Just as I do, the fire burns itself out and we're shrouded in darkness.

"Senritsu...Senritsu! Damn it, we've got to get out of here." I shake her, still in pitch darkness. No response. In a sudden moment of worrying desparation, I put my ear to her heart. It is still beating, faintly, but still there.

"Hold on, hold on!"

Exiting the small tunnel is easier now that's she's suddenly thinner, but harder because I need to drag her the entire way. The green light shows me the end, as it gets bigger, and I pick her up and put her over my shoulder as we enter the main tunnel.

But the skeletons refuse to let me pass so easily. Grinning with empty eye sockets, they advance jerkily, as though pulled by a puppeteer's strings. They gesture with bony fingers, stretching out towards us.

I reach under my shirt and pull out my tankoban. "Old friends, do not fail me this time," I say, balancing Senritsu as I take them in both hands.

Clatter goes the sound of dismembered bone to the floor. Clatter, clatter! I strike and continue striking, moving forward.

And then something is lifted from my shoulder.

"No!" I turn back and charge after the skeletons which have stolen her away and are making off with her at furious speed down the left tunnel.

I have to run with all my might to catch the gliding beings along the tunnel. At the end is an eerie, orange-red light.

At the last minute, they drop her and she falls...there seems to be no floor...

I reach out and grab her upwards floating hand, my belly to the uneven ground. She hangs there, still unconscious, head drooping. Below her is a living pool of molten lava.

I feel bony fingers clawing into my back, and then all goes red...

A little while later, I don't know how much later, I come back to myself, panting, at the entrance of the cave, Senritsu over my shoulder, my tankoban in my left hand. Bloody scratches claw up my arms and legs, a few on my torso.

I look back. The opening of the cave looks so lifeless, so harmless. Yet I shiver, untying the horse, placing the now seemingly much younger woman on her stomach over the saddle and my knees and begin the journey back, gently but also hastily.

At the inn. I lay her down on her bed, for the first time getting a look at her new face. Even though I know it's what she looked like before the curse, it still astonishes me.

She appears to be no older than sixteen, with sweet, if not beautiful, features. Her hair is a little lighter than it used to be, but, thank heaven, now it looks just like any other teenager's, if a bit mussy from the wild journey back. Long eyelashes gracefully graze flushed cheeks, and I wonder what they look like when she opens them.

The garment she is wearing is still a bit strange on her new figure, very loose, still showing off shapely curves. I swallow hard and force myself to look away. This is very weird. Looking at someone who I've always thought of as much, much older than me, and now...it was like looking at a new person. Someone actually enjoyable to look at.

The doctor comes, the doctor goes. Exhaustion, he says, from what I can pick out. She'll be fine in a couple of days.

Those next couple of days she's still unconscious, but breathing peacefully enough that I feel good enough to make a visit to the only tailor I can find in the area. I've a little idea, from comparing her to me, that what will fit me will be a little bigger on her.

Of course, trying on said clothing at the tailor's only feeds the middle-aged woman's opinion that I am female.

I can't imagine why. I don't even remotely resemble a girl, why would anyone suggest such a thing?

But I figure that getting into a debate in Mongolian is not in my best interest, since I might end up saying, "I am a hippopotamus" instead of "I am actually male", and go with it.

When I get back, she is starting to wake up.


	10. Fine

Chapter 10: Yami no Sonata, part 5

I open my eyes, cautiously. Even though the room is dim, it still hurts.

He's there, sitting on the side of the bed, concern but also relief written on his features. On the low table next to the bed, he has dropped some package.

"Senritsu...how are you feeling?" he asks in a soft tone.

I sit up slightly, groaning. "Like I've been beaten with sandbags," I say. Then I cover my mouth in shock. My voice is definitely younger. Still soft, but young.

I glanced down at my arms, moving up the sleeve so that I can see what used to be the blackened skeleton of my left arm. Complete...not only that...slender...

"HA!" I burst out. "It worked, it worked, it totally worked!"

He bemusedly observes me hopping out of bed and prancing around. His face reflects a bit of astonishment. "Um...Senritsu, that is you, right?"

"Well, yeah, who else would it be, silly?" A part of me, the energetic, spontaneous side of me that has been forcefully locked up for the past seven years, bursts out in full glory.

I tackle him on the bed, kiss his cheek, get up, start dancing again.

And then I stop short. I have realized something. This garment doesn't fit like it used to. As a matter of fact...a large portion of my thigh is very visually apparent.

Noticing my sudden flushing face and embarrassment, he chuckles and tosses that package towards me. "Go ahead and change, come get me in my room when you're finished," he says, leaving and closing the door behind him.

I undress cautiously, and slip into the shirt and long skirt. They are dark purple, and, honestly, quite a bit too long for me.

I sigh. This is the one thing I always hated about my appearance, even before the curse.

I knock on his door, and he comes out. Then, becoming aware in the closer proximity, he says, "You're still short."

I pout. "I'm taller than I used to be."

He closes the door behind him. "You're still short."

I roll my eyes. "It makes us a perfect couple then, because you're short, too."

Then I gasp and cover my mouth. His has opened with a little shock, but mostly, I think, humor.

On the train back. Entering, I earn a few appreciative looks and even one low whistle from the various young men riding with us. Until Kurapika, with narrowed eyes that lightly glow warning, puts an arm around my shoulders protectively.

I pump my arm in victory once we reach the Hunter's compartment. "Yes! It's been seven years since the last time I got that reaction!" He casts a wary, but amused, glance at me.

We sit side by side. We've been talking, laughing, like two young people.

The conversation is the same, but the dynamic is considerably different.

He becomes quiet suddenly.

A sideways glance. Then another, even more nervous.

I wait patiently. He'll ask soon enough.

Then, "Senritsu..."

"Yes?"

He swallows hard. "Can you still...do you still have that Nen gift? The...the...reading heartbeats one?"

I grin impishly. "Of course! The Sonata only awakened in me a Nen gift that was already inherent. I didn't lose it when I became...like this." I gesture at my new—actually old—body, giggling a little at the blush that arises on his cheeks.

"I...see..." He is silent again, staring straight forward, then out the windows of the train. Then,

"Senritsu...?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know what my heart beat is saying now?"

Ah, there it is, finally. He glances up at my eyes, then away, then back again, so boyishly!

I say, quite bluntly, "Right now you're thinking, 'Wow, she's actually attractive! I didn't know she could be attractive! I wonder what she would think if I'...mmmph!"

Because by this time the Kuruta has closed my lips with his. After a minute, during which time he has explored my mouth with his, my face with his hands, he pulls away, gently wiping his lips.

"That was a bit wet."

"Yup."

A little more awkward silence. Then, "Do you want to try again?"

Pause. "Yup."

"You know, I wondered what it would be like to kiss you, once," he says after the second, more prolonged time. "I mean, before."

I am genuinely astonished. "What?"

He nods sheepishly. "That day while you were playing the beginning of Claire de Lune. You looked so...cute...even in that form...concentrating on the piece...and I thought, maybe it wouldn't be so bad...And then I asked myself, 'What the hell are you thinking?'"

We both laugh.

"And now, there's something you need to do," I tell him. He nods, but his expression changes. "To find the eyes of my people," he says.

"I'll help you," I burst out. He gives me a wary glance. "Look, Senritsu..."

"I know, I know, you don't need my help, blah blah blah. Not true, and you know it. Why don't you take your own advice for a change. 'Why in the world didn't you ask me to come with you?' I'm not going to let you force me to ask that. From now on, we're a team, got it?"

"A team..." he says softly. "No, more like a duet."

Ah, I think. Kurapika Kuruta finally is starting to think in the language of music.

And from then on, the two of them are "like a duet."

_Fine_

**Author's Notes:** Okay, so Senritsu is a little OOC. A lot. But she did just undergo a transformation, right? I thought a little of that side of her character shone through in "The Heartbeat Never Lies", but maybe that's just my wishful thinking.

I didn't really mean to let it get to this point, anyway. It was supposed to be a bunch of pieces about music and friendship, but then the Yami no Sonata bit was just aching to be resolved and so...

Anyway, that's the end of my fanciful, very debatable, Kurapika/Senritsu pairing. May no arrows come my way because of it.


	11. Music Selections

Music Selections

Here is a list of music that I think would be good to listen to with each chapter:

Chapter 1: Debussy: First Arabesque

Chapter 2: Mozart: Fantasia in D minor

Chapter 3: Brahms: Intermezzo in C major

Chapter 4: Debussy: Claire de Lune

Chapter 5: Brahms: Intermezzo in A major

Chapter 6: Nana Kitade: Tsuikhana

Chapter 7: Horse Racing (traditional Chinese erhu song)

Chapter 8: Kanon Wakeshima: Still Doll

Chapter 9: Muse: Time is running out

Chapter 10: Hunter X Hunter soundtrack: Pray

The first five are obviously the chapter names, and after that I just looked for pieces that would sound good according to the context of the chapters. All can be found on Youtube.


End file.
